Thursday, June 23, 2011

Sweet Eats and New Treats in New Brunswick Canada!

Part Two of my Canada trip had our group ferrying across the Bay of Fundy into the New Brunswick province. From sightseeing at the Hopewell Rocks to the never ending seafood meals, the last leg of the trip was also jam packed with interesting and yummy places to visit! So without further ado, check out some of the highlights from my last three days in Canada, after the jump.

~Sweet Eats~

If you are looking for a 5 star quality meal but in a relaxed and unfussy setting, look no further than The Rossmount Inn. Located in the lovely but unpretentious resort town of St. Andrews, this award winning restaurant located in the luxurious inn of the same name serves some of the best seafood in the area. Oh, and the beautiful scenery that surrounds the property doesn’t hurt the ambiance either ;)

I started off with a half a dozen fresh from the bay oysters topped with the most vibrant apple, red onion and cucumber mignonette, served on a bed of ocean seaweed. As an aside: Since I had been lacking in the usual vegetable intake that keeps me “regular” during my trip, I started eating the ocean seaweed on the plate. When the owner of the restaurant saw me eating the seaweed, she gently told me that the seaweed isn’t really for human consumption (due to its rubbery nature). But, she ended up bringing me a big bowl of kelp seaweed (the kind used in traditional Chinese cooking). Without going into TMI territory, after finishing the kelp, I was pretty good to go the next morning…

My goal in the trip was to eat as much lobster as possible -- as lobster caught from your backyard and served fresh to your plate on the same day is beyond awesome. So obviously, I had to order the butter poached lobster served on top mushroom ravioli, garnished with the notoriously difficult to find but highly delicious fiddleheads for my main course. This dish was so perfect I wanted to cry – the tender and meaty lobster was buttery but not to the point of cloying. The ravioli was cooked al dente and complemented my favorite crustacean extremely well. And of course, the sautéed fiddleheads, my favorite vegetable of all time, were the icing on the cake!

When I thought it couldn’t get any better than Mr. Lobster Fiddlehead Dish, out came the dessert: a beautiful and fluffy panna cotta topped with a succulent strawberry rhubarb compote (FYI, the Maritime region is known for their superb quality rhubarb). This was the just the right something to finish off what was an amazing night.

Dinner at The Rossmount Inn was my favorite meal of my entire Canada trip, as well as one of the most memorable meals of my life.

Also don’t miss:
--Ossie’s, the roadstop take-out joint on Highway 1 known for its generous portions of deep fried haddock, clams, and other sea friends (all shipped fresh every morning). The lines are usually long, but each made to order dish is totally worth the wait!

--The Cave View Restaurant St. Martins (no website - tel: 506-833-4698), another seafood joint situated right on the shores of the Bay of Fundy. Get the steamed whole lobster dinner – my lobster was fresh to death (probably because it came right out of the bay that morning).

~New Treats~

One of the highlights during my tour of New Brunswick was my to visit the Hopewell Rocks National Park, where I got to view rock formations caused by tidal erosion on the shores of the Bay of Fundy. These rocks can be viewed during low and high tide during the day (time span in between: 6 hours and 13 minutes – so plan accordingly!) – and both were equally pictorial and charming.

A view during high tide (PS, the Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world).

…and during low tide…

Unfortunately, as the winds were too violent during my visit, my kayak tour thru the rocks during high tide was cancelled for the day (which means I have no excuse not to go back now!). Instead, I took to the park’s Interpretive Centre, where I learned all about the Bay of Fundy geology, tides and wildlife (I recommended getting the tour with Interpreter Kevin – his effervescent personality and high energy actually made an otherwise standard learning centre super fun).

Also don’t miss:
--Kingsbrae Garden, a ginormous 27-acre horticultural garden in the St. Andrews that features many a themed gardens (my favorite was the edible garden, obvi!), a petting zoo, and fountains and streams galore. Oh did I mention that the Kingsbrae was also recently named one of the "Top Five North American Gardens Worth Travelling For" at the 2011 international Garden Tourism Conference? Well, now there is no excuse not to visit!

--Ministers Island, an island that boasts some of the most picturesque views of the bay as well as railroad tycoon’s Sir William Van Horne’s old mansion (which is open for tours, weddings, and meetings). A traveler’s tip – you can only access the island via car during low tide – so make sure to time your trip accordingly!

--Fundy Trail, a 12 kilometer roadway along the last stretch of the underdeveloped coastline on the eastern seaboard. Although I’m not an outdoorsy type gal, I had to admit this trail was beautiful for walking, hiking and biking, with choice lookout points towards the Bay of Fundy.

Whew! And that was my trip! One week filled with picturesque views, fresh air, and more scrumptious seafood than one could ever imagine. Thanks again Canada for showing me the beauty (and deliciousness) of our Northern neighbor!

With ocean tides the height of a four story building and a discharge of water that exceeds that of every brook, stream and river on the planet in a single day, it is little wonder that the Bay of Fundy is Canada’s only entry into the New 7 Wonders of the World competition. The Bay of Fundy made the cut for the top 20 finalists -- to help them win the big prize, vote for them at www.votefundy.ca. Hurry though - voting ends 11.11.11!